Michigan Facade Restoration & Waterproofing Services

Great Lakes Winters

Michigan winters are long, and the Great Lakes make them harder on buildings. West Michigan sits in the lake-effect snow belt, where cities like Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo can see six feet or more of snow in a season. Across the state, temperatures swing above and below freezing again and again, so water that gets into a crack, joint or porous brick freezes and widens it. Heavy road salt use on freeways and city streets attacks concrete, steel and storefronts, and turns parking structures into corrosion zones.

The state’s buildings reflect its history. Detroit’s 1920s towers are clad in terra cotta, limestone and granite, Grand Rapids holds brick warehouses from its furniture-making era, and university towns like Ann Arbor and East Lansing mix historic campus buildings with modern research facilities. Each material needs the right approach, from matched lime mortars on historic brick to high-movement sealants on modern curtain walls.

Storms, Snowmelt And Summer Heat

When the snow melts, the water has to go somewhere, and failed flashings, open joints and worn roof seams are where it finds its way in. Spring and summer then bring strong thunderstorms with heavy rain, as the 2021 flooding in metro Detroit showed, along with humid heat that ages coatings and roofing. Our job is to close the openings water uses, repair what winter has already damaged and give every building an envelope that can handle a Michigan year.